Food Addiction: Is It Real?

Do you feel addicted to food, especially sweet treats?

If you struggle with addictive-like behavior when it comes tosugar, you are not alone. Researchers know that our brains arewired to love sweets, and are studying the food addictionqualities of foods high in sugar, flour and fat.

Even attorneys are getting into the act. While large companiessuch as Kraft (maker of Oreos), say that their research is not"aimed at creating consumer dependency", they do share expertisewith their corporate counterpart, Phillip Morris.

The attorneys who won huge settlements against the tobaccocompanies believe they could repeat their wins, if they couldprove that food companies hid any addictive qualities of theirfoods.

Moments after you indulge in sweet treats, your brain's pleasurecenter releases opiate-like substances.

The same brain chemicals that create narcotic highs also keepyou coming back to sugary treats.

Food addiction is real.

Early studies on lab rats showed that rodents have a ravenoustaste for Oreos. In experiments, the rats poked the cookies,sniffed them, and ate them to excess.

Many rats even took them apart and licked the fillings . . .just like humans.

According to Ann Kelley at the University of Wisconsin, "evenbacteria swim toward sugar."

The same sort of opiates that create the rush of drugs such asheroin also shape how the brain gets pleasure from food,especially foods high in fat and sugar.

Brain scans in human subjects have shown that Oreos and othersweet snacks act on the same brain pleasure centers that respondto addictive drugs.

The thought and sight of ice cream set off the same neurologicalpleasure centers in healthy subjects as the images of crackpipes did for drug addicts.

Of course, all this doesn't PROVE that food is addictive, andsome people have more of a problem than others.

But addiction researchers are coming to a more certainconclusion - sugar is like alcohol and other addictivesubstances.

Our brains and bodies respond in very similar ways.

Food has the ability to change your appearance, your health,your mood, and your self-esteem.

When you think about it that way, I hope it makes it easier tomake more conscious and healthy decisions . . . peacefully.